Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

secret society

(Encyclopedia)secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation i...

Soka Gakkai

(Encyclopedia)Soka Gakkai sōˈkä gäkˈkī [key] [Jap.,=Value Creation Society], Japan-based independent lay Buddhist movement. A theological offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, it was founded (1930) as the Soka Kyoik...

Enchi, Fumiko

(Encyclopedia)Enchi, Fumiko fo͞oˈmēˈkō ĕnˈchē [key], 1905–86, Japanese novelist and literary critic. The daughter of a well-known Japanese literary scholar, she first wrote for the theater, later turning ...

Terauchi, Masatake

(Encyclopedia)Terauchi, Masatake, 1852–1919, Japanese army officer and political. He joined the army in 1871, became military attaché to France (1882), inspector general of military education (1898), and army mi...

Jesus, Society of

(Encyclopedia)Jesus, Society of, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its members are called Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola, its founder, named it Compañia de Jesús [Span.,=(military) company of Jesus];...

Liberal Democratic party, Japanese political party

(Encyclopedia)Liberal Democratic party (LDP), Japanese political party. It began as the conservative Liberal party, which, under Shigeru Yoshida, became the dominant political force in Japan following World War II....

Akita, city, Japan

(Encyclopedia)Akita äˈkētä [key], city, capital of Akita prefecture, NW Honshu, Japan, on the Sea of Japan. A producer of petroleum products and chemicals, Akito city also has a lar...

Hoya, city, Japan

(Encyclopedia)Hoya hōˈyä [key], city, Tokyo Metropolis, E central Honshu, Japan, on the Shakoji River. I...

Hanno, city, Japan

(Encyclopedia)Hanno hän-nō [key], city, Saitama prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Naguri River. I...

Anan, city, Japan

(Encyclopedia)Anan änˈän [key], city, Tokushima prefecture, E Shikoku, Japan, on the Kii Channel. The city was created in 1958 by the merger of Tomioka and Tachibana. An agricultural...